Devīmāhātmya

Collection: whishcollection; royalasiaticsociety; palmleafmanuscripts; europeanlibraries

Digitizing sponsor: Kahle/Austin Foundation

Contributor: The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland

Language: Sanskrit

Palm leaf; 7 or 8 lines on a folio.

Text consists of the Devīmāhātmya from the Sūryasāvarṇika-Manvantara of the Mārkaṇḍeya-Purāṇa, in 23 Adhyāyas, preceded by the Argaḻastotra and Kīlakastotra. Winternitz notes that the edition by L. Poles (Berlin, 1831) and the Bombay editions of 1862 (Śake 1784) and 1864 (Śake 1786) contain only 13 Adhyāyas.

Text begins: nyāsam āvāhanañ caiva nāmāny argaḻakīlakaṃ | hṛdayañ ca daḻañ caiva ddhyānaṃ kavacam eva ca | māhātmyañ ca japen nityam aṣṭamyāñ ca viśeṣataḥ | sarvasaubhāgyam āpnoti[ṃ] dehānte ca labhet gatiṃ | oṃ | pādayor vārābhyo namaḥ | nitaṃbe nārasiṃhyai namaḥ | etc.

F. 7: iti śrīdevīmāhātmye kīlakastotraṃ samāptaṃ || athātas saṃpravakṣyāmi vistareṇa yathātathaṃ caṇḍikāhṛdayaṃ guhyaṃ śruṇuṣvaikāgramānasaḥ | hrāṃ hrīṃ hṛbi[?] ai hrīṃ śrīṃ klīṃ jaya jaya cāmuṇḍike tridaśamakuṭakoṭi saṃghaṭṭacaraṇāravinde sāvitrī gāyatrī sarasvatī mahāhikṛtahāriṇe bhairavarūpadhāriṇī prakaṭitadaṃṣṭrogravadane ghore ghoranayane jvalajvālāsahasraparivṛte, etc.

The first Adhyāya ends on f.30. The 16th Adhyāya ends on f.78b. Ff.79-87 are also foliated separately by letters, viz. ka, cha, etc.

It ends: īśānakoṇekṣaṃ kṣetrapālāya namaḥ | aṣṭadaḻabāhye devyās tad dakṣiṇāntaṃ gaṃgaṇapataye namaḥ | paṃparamagurubhyo namaḥ | paṃparamagurupādukābhyo namaḥ | ḍaṃvaṭukabhairavāya namaḥ | duṃdurgāyai namaḥ | paṅtipūjayet || iti śrīmārkaṇḍeyapurāṇe sūryyasāvarṇike manvantare devīmāhātmye paṅntipūjārahasyan nāma trayoviṃśo[pañcaviṃśo, pr. m.]ddhyāyaḥ || śrīmahādevyai namaḥ | śrīgurubhyo namaḥ | śivāya namaḥ | hariḥ om ||

For more extensive quotations from the text, see scanned copy of Winternitz catalogue (see below).

Winternitz notes that there are entries on the manuscript (recto of first blank folio at beginning and first blank folio at the end) dated 1825, but that the manuscript may be about 50 years older.

South Indian Sanskrit / Whish Manuscript Collection.

See ’A catalogue of South Indian Sanskrit manuscripts (especially those of the Whish Collection) belonging to the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland’ by M. Winternitz, with an appendix by F. W. Thomas (London: RAS, 1902) p.48-49. Go to http://tinyurl.com/j3tkdwj for a digital copy of this catalogue.

J. L. Whish, gift of manuscripts collected by his brother C. M. Whish, July 1836.

Text in Sanskrit; Grantha script.